Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Peers: Correspondence

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to respond to the letter sent by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 8 December 2020 about making public funds available to the Royal Albert Hall.

Baroness Barran: A response was sent on 25th February 2021. I apologise for the delay.

Department for Work and Pensions

Kickstart Scheme

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) employers, and (2) unemployed young people, have joined the Kickstart Scheme.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Kickstart scheme has approved over 560 individual employers applying directly, this does not include the many more employers who have applied and had their jobs approved for Kickstart funding via more than 800 gateway organisations. Over 2000 young people have started a Kickstart job. We are pleased that so many young people are able to access the Kickstart Scheme under current public health restrictions.

Department of Health and Social Care

Abortion

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 29 December 2020 (HL11398), when the research by the King’s Fund on patterns of abortion uptake in England, commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care, will be published.

Lord Bethell: This work was paused in 2020 due to COVID-19. The research is now due to conclude in late spring and will be published shortly afterwards.

Care Homes: Visits

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the indemnity on visits that has been granted to designated care homes which care for patients recovering from COVID-19 to all care settings; and whether this indemnity will be made permanent.

Lord Bethell: The Designated Settings Indemnity Support (DSIS) was introduced specifically to enable those care homes assured, or intending to be assured, by the Care Quality Commission as Designated Settings and which are unable to obtain sufficient insurance, to overcome this barrier to accepting infectious COVID-19 positive patients from the National Health Service. It is a targeted, temporary measure to boost capacity in these settings and support wider NHS discharges in response to current pandemic pressures. The support will run until the end of March 2021, with a review point in mid-February. The DSIS is not, therefore, a permanent or sector-wide intervention.We recognise that the wider adult social care insurance market is changing in response to the pandemic and that some care providers may encounter difficulties as their policies come up for renewal. We are working closely across Government, with care providers and insurance representatives to understand the breadth and severity of these wider issues, including those related to visiting and whether there is any further action the Government should take.

NHS Test and Trace

Baroness McGregor-Smith: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto ensure that NHS Test and Trace functions successfully after the restrictions put in place by the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No.4) Regulations 2020 are lifted.

Lord Bethell: Since the most recent national restrictions in January, the Government has continued to to ensure that NHS Test and Trace functions successfully. NHS Test and Trace has the capacity to respond to increases in demand and is able to test over 750,000 people a day.Contact tracing services have also increased. The number of cases being transferred to the contact tracing system in the week 4 February to 10 February 2021 was 105,764, compared to 3,571 in the week 2 July to 8 July 2020.

Terminal Illnesses: Suicide

Baroness Hayman: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have to undertake a “deep dive” study into drug-related deaths and suicides in order to establish the number of people with terminal illnesses who die as a result of suicide.

Baroness Hayman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Office for National Statistics about commissioning research into how many people with terminal illnesses die as a result of suicide per year.

Baroness Hayman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the National Institute for Health Research about commissioning research into how many people with terminal illnesses die as a result of suicide per year.

Lord Bethell: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR is not currently funding any specific research into how many people with terminal illnesses die as a result of suicide per year, but welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.The Office for National Statistics is unable to collect data on suicide where a terminally ill person has taken their own life, as information on the deceased’s terminal illness is not generally recorded

Cabinet Office

Alex Salmond

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission a report from the Head of the Civil Service into the conduct of the civil servants involved in (1) the preparations for the trial HM Advocate v Salmond, (2) the allegations of collusion within the Scottish Government in relation to the bringing of the charges relating to that trial, and (3) the reports of problems relating to submissions to the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints.

Lord True: This is a matter for the Scottish Government. There is an ongoing process to consider these issues in the Scottish Parliament. It would be premature and inappropriate to speculate on further action that may be taken until that process has concluded.

Department for International Trade

Tradeshow Access Programme: Finance

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Tradeshow Access Programme funding is available to UK companies to take part in digital trade shows.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: I am pleased to say that Her Majesty’s Government is currently operating a pilot programme to assess the benefits of providing support, through the Tradeshow Access Programme, to UK companies participating in digital tradeshows. The pilot runs until 31 March 2021.